


Little One

by theoneavaliableusername



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alien Culture, Awesome Frigga (Marvel), Brothers, Cuddling & Snuggling, Culture Shock, Diplomacy, Family Feels, Gen, Jotunn Biology (Marvel), Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Kid Loki (Marvel), Kidnapping, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Negotiations, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Odin (Marvel)'s A+ Parenting, Protective Siblings, Protective Thor (Marvel), Reunions, Running Away, Servants, Spies & Secret Agents, Thor is Not Stupid (Marvel), War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:41:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28474086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoneavaliableusername/pseuds/theoneavaliableusername
Summary: In which the Jötnar age and mature slower than Æsir, Loki secretly follows his brother to Jötunheim, and mama Laufey is not letting her long lost baby boy go without a fight. A fight that inevitably spreads to Midgard, because Earth just has the worst luck.
Relationships: Frigga | Freyja & Loki (Marvel), Helblindi & Loki (Marvel), Laufey & Loki (Marvel), Loki & Avengers Team, Loki & Thor (Marvel)
Comments: 57
Kudos: 288
Collections: The Land of Ice and Snow





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Snowflake](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16800172) by [Virodeil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Virodeil/pseuds/Virodeil). 



"Arms up, Highness," Erin prompted. Loki kept his arms crossed tightly across his chest and glared daggers at her in the mirror. 

"I shall do it. I am fully capable of dressing myself."

Erin nodded agreeably. 

"Of course, my Prince. And dressed you are, by your very own hand. Now we need to get your armor on."

"Are you deaf?" he snapped. "I said I'll do it! I am NOT a child!"

"It is not only children who require assistance donning armor. All Æsir warriors do, including your father and brother."

"Lie," Loki spat, though he had seen it with his own eyes.

"Truth," Erin countered. "We both know it. Will you let me help you with your armor now?"

"No! You're not listening!"

"I am listening, I'm just not obeying."

_You should obey me. I'm the Prince!_

Loki bit back the words, knowing they would have only the opposite effect of what he desired. He'd tried them on warriors and servants alike, and gotten nothing in return but mockery.

Of course, when Thor demanded the obedience owed to his station, nobody ever mocked him. 

"My Prince, please. Any longer and I will be forced to summon the Queen. You cannot be late to your brother's coronation."

Loki refused to open his mouth. Mother was busy coordinating and overseeing and Erin wouldn't really—

"Very well," she said, and turned to pull the cord that would alert Mother that she was needed.

"Wait!"

Erin turned back, still so annoyingly calm and steady. Wordlessly, he stuck his arms out. The ceremonial armor was on in minutes and Erin shadowed Loki to where he would wait to enter the throne room.

"Little brother!" Thor boomed, already there. Loki braced himself for the slap on the back and his knees still buckled.

"Thor," he greeted, fighting a scowl. His brother laughed and slung an arm across his shoulders. He was acting even more rowdy than usual, which meant he was anxious.

"Are you nervous?" The question slipped out without his permission. Thankfully there were no servants around to hear him questioning the Crown Prince's manliness. 

Thor, unlike what he rather expected, actually thought about it.

"Perhaps," he said, quiet(er) and pensive. 

"You'll be a great King," Loki said. "You're the finest warrior in the Realms!"

Thor laughed, slapping his back again. "You flatter me brother; but nonetheless you are correct! Father wouldn't be willing to crown me were I not ready!"

Much cheered, Thor briefly clasped the back of Loki's neck and went to find something alcoholic, presumably. Loki was left to stand there awkwardly, wishing he had a book and wondering why there wasn't any seating. Thankfully it wasn't long before Mother showed up.

"Loki, dear, you look splendid!" she cried, kissing his cheeks.

"Thank you," he said, "but not as splendid as you are."

It was true. She was dressed in sweeping yellow-gold nearly the same color as her hair and tastefully draped with jewels. Mother always looked wonderful. But today she was radiant.

"Sweet boy," she said, smoothing down his curly hair. He'd thought about slicking it back so it was straight like Thor's but Erin said it only looked greasy.

A gong rang out. Loki offered Mother his arm and together they walked slowly into the open, down the massive carpet to the stairs before the throne. Just as practiced, they took their places on the steps as the crowd roared. Thor next.

Loki waited, but his brother didn't—ooh, of course. He would want to make an entrance. As soon as he had the thought, Mjölnir whistled through the air. Loki bit back a grin. His brother really was dramatic sometimes.

Thor took his time to the stairs, working the crowd and drawing forth the single loudest cheers Loki had ever witnessed. At last though he took his spot before the Throne. Loki found himself holding his breath. 

"Thor Odinson," Father began, "my son. My Firstborn."

Loki saw the proud tears forming in Father's eye and felt his own prickle in response. A quick glance told him Mother was having the same problem. He refused to let the tears fall though; Loki was already stupidly childish enough without weeping during his brother's coronation for all of Asgard to see.

Then, suddenly, Father stopped.

"Frost Giants," he whispered. Most appropriately, Loki's blood turned to ice.

...

Loki winced as Thor overturned the feasting table. His brother was not taking the sabotage of his coronation well at all. Not that he wasn't right to be angry, but Loki never liked it when Thor was in a mood. 

"You're scaring the boy," Volstagg scolded Thor.

"I am not a boy!" Loki snapped. But Thor glanced at Loki, scowled guiltily, and threw himself down on the steps next to him.

"Fret not, brother. Those savages will not get away with this insult!"

"But Father forbade you from acting against the Fost Giants," Loki said. Slowly, Thor grinned, but there was nothing good natured about it.

"Indeed he did."

"Wha—Thor no! That's madness. You can't just disobey the All-Father!" Loki shot to his feet. 

Thor waved him off. "You worry too much! I am King in all but name, now. I will go as I please." He proceeded to give a short but effective speech, both playful and bold, and then apparently they were going to Jötunheim. Loki belatedly shielded the room from Heimdall's gaze.

"I'm coming too," Loki interjected. Thor's smile turned into a frown.

"Brother, Jötunheim is no place for--"

"For what, Thor?" Loki hissed, eyes narrowed.

"You," Sif said bluntly. Loki rounded on her, his least favorite of Thor's friends. They'd gotten along once, before someone accused her of having a mothering instinct. Ever since she had been nothing but harsh.

"So try and stop me," Loki said, knowing in his bones they couldn't. They were better warriors, every one of them, but Loki did magic like it was breathing. "Either you let me come with you where you can keep an eye on me or I make my way by myself."

Thor puffed up, Sif bristled, and even Volstagg and Frandral were frowning. Hogun, to his shock, was his defender. 

"He will do as he says. And he will die. Let him come."

Loki resented the sentiment but even he wasn't stupid enough to argue against his own case.

"Fine," Thor growled eventually. "But you will use your tricks to stay unseen by all eyes.

"Even Heimdall?" Loki asked, startled.

"Naturally. He wouldn't let us go if he knew you were coming."

"Which is perhaps a sign that he shouldn't come at all, Thor," Sif said. Loki glowered and resolved to do something embarrassing to her at a later date. Thankfully Thor ignored her.

"Nay. My brother will come. Perhaps it will do him good." 

And that was that. Thor's friends bowed to his will in a way nobody ever did for Loki, and they were off to the stables. It was decided that Loki would change forms and run alongside the horses rather than ride with Thor. Loki didn't mind. 

He shifted into the skin of a fox, already invisible, and trotted silently after his brother. He was going to _Jötunheim!_ Of course, considering the bloodthirsty beasts that inhabited the place, maybe he shouldn't be so excited, but still! He was going on one of Thor's adventures at last!

They reached the Bifrost to find Heimdall waiting for them. Loki had anticipated this—Heimdall was the All-Seeing and they'd talked about their quest as boldly as anything.

"You're not dressed warmly enough."

"We'll be fine," Thor dismissed. Loki privately agreed. The Æsir form could withstand any manner of extreme temperature with ease. "Tell no one where we have gone."

"As you say."

The warriors and Loki climbed onto the landing pad.

"You must know that the Bifrost will not come to your rescue should it endanger the security of Asgard." A chill ran down his spine but Loki dismissed it. Thor was the greatest warrior alive. They would have no need for a quick escape. 

"Couldn't you just leave it open for us?" Volstagg asked. Loki rolled his eyes. That would make the security problem worse, not better.

"Such would unleash the full power of the Bifrost, destroying Jötunheim with you upon it."

"...Ah. Best not to, then."

_You think?_

Loki braced himself for the massive tug of the Bifrost, but when it came he was shocked by how harshly it effected his vulpine form. Loki ended up sprawled on the ice rather than on his feet.

He scrambled upright and changed form before any of the others could notice, thankful for his enchantments. It...wasn't as cold as he thought it would be.

They began their trek towards the palace looming in the distance. The others shivered but Loki's breath had stopped steaming minutes ago. He supposed it was his seidr, adapting to the new environment. 

"Where are they?" Sif said, as if to herself.

"Hiding," Thor said loudly. "As cowards always do." Loki winced. They were here to get answers, not start a fight. 

Loki heard a—a shimmer, in the air, like magic being released. He couldn't identify what manner of working it was. He turned his head and saw a woman watching them, high up near the empty throne. His seidr tingled at the sight of her. The first thing he noticed about her was her height—she was many heads taller than even Thor. The second was that she had no hair, but rather a crest of bony ridges that seemed to form a crown. The last was that she had no breasts.

He stopped to consider that. If a woman had no hair, no breasts, and went around shirtless, wouldn't that imply she was actually a he? But Loki felt quite certain that this was a woman.

She ghosted along above them to settle in the Throne. The air shimmered again and the others tensed.

"You have come a long way to die, Asgardians," she said. And the strangest thing happened. Loki felt the tingle in his chest morph into a bone deep ache. He knew that voice, low and rich with the slightest hint of a growl. He heard it in his dreams.

Loki turned his seidr inwards. The woman must have cast a spell on him! There was no way he could recognize a Frost Giant's voice! Especially this Frost Giant. But he could find no hint of an enchantment. 

"You court more than death," the woman—Laufey, this was _Laufey_ —murmured in response to something Thor said. "Do you truly desire a war, Odinson? To see your people struck down as you lead them to their deaths?"

"You know not of what you speak!"

"We know, Asgardian. We have lived war. It is not what your ambitious heart has made it out to be. Go now, while we still allow it."

"Not until you tell us how your people got into the vault!" Thor yelled. Somewhere, ice chipped off of one of the many cliffs and shattered.

"You will leave," Laufey said, standing up, "or you will die."

Loki could feel the truth in her words. He stepped forward and grabbed Thor's wrist as a massive Frost Giant approached. Thor barely came up past his middle.

"She speaks the truth," he whispered in Thor's ear. "Thor, we need to go. Please."

Thor gritted his teeth. For a second Loki thought he would attack anyway, but the moment passed and Thor turned away.

"Run back home, little princess."

Sif swore. Thor grinned. And then there was no more room for thought. The giant went flying through the air; the others unsheathed and activated their weapons; Loki fumbled for his daggers seconds too late.

A giant rushed towards them and Loki threw, cold metal singing through the air. It shattered ice and pierced flesh. His foe fell with a roar. Loki panted. His first—His first kill. He should be proud! Norns, why did he feel so empty?

He ducked under a giant reaching for Volstagg and sliced his dagger across his hamstring. The Jötun fell, yelling:

"MAGE ON THE BATTLEFIELD!"

"Loki run!" Thor shouted. Heart in his throat, Loki did as he was told. He changed into the skin of a wolf and went bounding through the open castle. Then, before he knew what was happening, the low walls of ice shot up to full size.

Loki skidded, trying to stop, but collided with the ice with enough force to crack it. Several Frost Giants zeroed in on him. Loki transformed himself into a bird, but ran into an invisible barrier at the top of the wall. He fell heavily.

Loki transformed back into the wolf and struggled to his feet. He tried to teleport but something was blocking him, like the wards in the Palace back home. Loki squinted around, trying to find Thor and the others. He saw a flash of red far off in the distance.

 _Brother_.

He scrambled for Thor only to run into another barrier. Loki backtracked until he hit another one. Fear turned to utter dread. Loki sprinted in every direction he could, eventually finding nothing but walls. They encased a large space—clearly his enemy was not sure exactly where Loki was.

He could use that! He could just hide and avoid whatever scout's they sent inside. The Jötnar were notoriously stupid; it couldn't be that hard. Loki took a deep breath. It tasted oddly. He breathed deeply again, tail twitching. The bitter chemical scent flooded his nostrils and Loki coughed as his head began to spin. 

He staggered and fell, pawing uselessly at his nose. Poison! Poison in the air! Loki howled, forgetting entirely that he needed to stay quiet. He had to warn Thor and the others!

"Found him!" 

Huge hands closed around him and Loki knew no more.

...

"You are a foolish, arrogant boy!" Odin roared. "Your battle lust has seen two friend maimed and one other on the threshold of death! Because of this, Asgard courts war with Jötunheim!"

"It would not have come to that had you listened to me in the first place!" Thor bellowed right back. "If anything, this is your fault—"

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Odin struck Thor across the face. "You would insult your King?"

"Only when _my King_ acts like a cowardly old fool!" Thor snarled. Odin's face was nearly purple with rage. 

"THAT IS ENOUGH! Thor Odinson, I find you unworthy! You are unworthy of your title, of your throne, of your family!" He slammed Gungnir to the floor of the Observatory. "You're _unworthy!_ "

Thor fell to his knees, screaming as everything from his armor to his powers was stripped from him, leaving him as shaky and weak and naked as a newborn. 

"Father, wait—"

"You are no son of mine," Odin hissed. He raised Gungnir and pointed it at Thor with a shout. In a flash the former Crown Prince was gone, whizzing along the secret pathways to a realm very different than anything he had ever known. 

Odin slumped, clinging to his spear to stay upright. He had exhausted himself with that stunt, using dark energy instead of the Bifrost, but it would do no good to Asgard's relations with Jötunheim for the giants to see the Bifrost activate again so soon after their realm was invaded. 

"My King?" Heimdall asked, the slightest hint of concern coloring his voice.

"Do not think I have forgotten your disobedience, Gatekeper," Odin growled. He staggered and Heimdall broke protocol to catch him. Odin's eyes rolled back in his head and the All-Father entered the Odinsleep.

...

Hogun was the first to notice.

"Where is Loki?" he asked as soon as the Healers left, eyes searching the room as if he could see through Loki's spells when not even Heimdall could do that. 

"Loki, show yourself," Sif commanded. She was the least injured of them, only a small frost burn on her bicep. 

Nothing. 

"This is not amusing," Fandral called, the worst injured. He had been speared through the shoulder by an ice blade and lost a lot of blood. "Come out now, Loki."

Still nothing. Volstagg let out a forced chuckle. "I'm sure the boy is fine. It's likely he stayed with Thor, wherever Thor is."

Sif nodded and Fandral seemed convinced, but Hogun's mouth was set into a grim line. 

"Perhaps. But if he is not..." The implications were clear to all of them. 

"He may be young, but Loki is a smart one. He wouldn't have been caught by brutes as dull as the Frost Giants," Volstagg said. "And he can world walk if it comes to it."

"They may be brutes," Hogun argued, "but even animals can be cunning. We must find him."

"How do you expect us to do that?" Sif asked. "We can't find the little trickster on a good day!"

"We have to try," Hogun said, his tone leaving no room for debate. "First, we must find Thor. If Loki is with him then all is well."

And those who could walk, namely everyone but Fandral, set off to locate their shield brother. And where to go to find a missing comrade but to the one who can see everything? But Heimdall's words sent chills down their spines. 

"The All-Father has seen fit to banish and disown Thor Son of None," the Gatekeeper said heavily. "He is waking on Midgard as we speak, little more than a mortal."

"How can this be?" Sif demanded. "Thor—"

"Disobeyed his father and King," Heimdall interrupted. "The All-Father is well within his rights to do as he wishes."

Sif fumed, but even she was not bold enough to argue against the punishment of the All-Father. 

"Have you seen Loki?" Volstagg asked. "He—ah, he must be upset to hear the news. We wouldn't want him to do anything foolish, you see."

"The Prince does not like to be seen when he can help it," Heimdall reminded them. "Though I suspect the usual haunts will produce results."

They did not. And so, fearing the worse, the trio sought audience with the All-Father, perfectly aware that they could soon be sharing their friend's fate. 

To their surprise, it was the Queen who waited for them in the Throne Room. The warriors knelt quickly.

"All-Mother."

"Rise," she bade them, and if her regal voice was a touch rougher than usual, well, none of them were going to mention it. 

"We fear for the safety of your son," Sif said, bracing herself. 

"Thor is a warrior grown," Frigga said, a delicate frown touching her lips. "And Midgard holds no great dangers."

"It is Loki we speak of," she said. 

The Queen's spine stiffened with fear. "Explain."

"We...Thor took him to Jötunheim with us," Sif managed. "He was hidden from sight, and we fear he did not return with us."

The Queen was on her feet in an instant. "How could you let this happen?"

"We had little choice in the matter," Sif explained. "Thor desired he come and Loki swore to go whether he was with us or not. I—nevertheless, we should have tried harder to stop them. I am sorry, your Majesty."

"Yes, you should be," Frigga said tightly. "But we will discuss your punishments later."

She made a sweeping motion and a guard hurried forward. "Summon the Council. You three, attend to your friend. Go!"

They bowed hurriedly and left, leaving Frigga pacing alone in the Throne Room, sudden bereft of every remaining member of her small family.


	2. Chapter 2

Egil was the one to find the intruder-mage, spotting the indents they left in the snow as they ran. There were no actual tracks, but Egil had been alive too long to fall for that weak ploy. They must have been either very young or very foolish to think that would be enough. He was banking on the former—foolish mages rarely lived long.

Egil knocked the intruder out with a quick spell and scooped the now visible form into his arms. A wolf, for the moment. He whistled a short series of notes, letting his fellow warriors know that at least one intruder was caught. His troop regrouped, half of them escorting him back to the Palace, the other half joining the rest of the Guard with Laufey King, facing off against the other intruders. 

He dropped the intruder on the floor of the seidr-blocked cells and sealed the door behind him. His duty done, Egil turned and left them to their fate. 

...

Frigga sat in the Council Chambers, contemplating, not for the first time, simply world walking to Jötunheim and freeing her son herself. 

"We should simply send a party of warriors," Tyr said. "The Frost Giants are weak. Why bother with diplomacy when we can simply retrieve the Prince ourselves?"

"And risk them slitting the boy's throat when they see us coming?" another Councilman said. 

"They would not be so foolish," Tyr dismissed. "We would wipe them from the Realms were they to kill him."

"Mind the lady," someone else snapped with a pointed look towards Frigga. She would like to say she appreciated the... _consideration_. As if she had not faced death like any of these men.

"Apologies, Your Majesty," Tyr said apologetically. "Your son will come to no harm, I assure you."

"I am well aware of the risks," Frigga said evenly. "Hence the reason I suggest sending a diplomatic party to reason with the Jötnar."

"With respect, All-Mother, the Frost Giants know nothing of reason."

"And yet they held to a treaty that kept them under our rule for over a thousand years," she pointed out, only years of practice keeping it from coming out as a retort, or worse—a challenge. It would not do to turn the Council against her. "Is that not reasonable of them?"

"It is naught but the base knowledge of an animal that knows it has been bested, slinking back to its lair," Tyr scoffed. "But that lesson has clearly been unlearned. I suggest we reinforce it, milady."

Frigga stopped herself from grinding her teeth. 

Councilman Vidar frowned. "The All-Father wishes peace with Jötunheim."

That brought the old general up short. Frigga took the moment to press her advantage. 

"I must do everything I can to ensure my husband's wishes are met while he is not with us."

There. That would remind him that she spoke with Odin's voice in his stead, which leant her power the largely ornamental position of All-Mother did not. It also reminded the stubborn old fools that Odin would return...and he would not be happy should they break his hard-won peace with Jötunheim. 

"Very well," Tyr agreed after a moment, looking irritated and vaguely disappointed. "Send your diplomats, Queen Frigga. I suppose the chance to spill Frost Giant blood will come another day."

Her blood farily boiling, Frigga nodded regally and swept from the Chambers without a further word. They had wasted enough time already. 

...

Dagny entered the cell where the intruder-mage languished, still in the form of a wolf. 

"You will assume your original form," she informed them. The wolf bared it's teeth. Dagny wasn't concerned—the mage was too frightened to attack at the moment. 

"You will assume your original form," she repeated, "or I will do it for you."

She let seidr crackle across her fingertips. After a pause, the wolf began to morph. A man, dressed in Asgardian armor, peered up at her from a surprisingly young face. 

"What is your name, intruder?" Dagny asked. He straightened to his pitiful full height. He was trembling head to toe. 

"I am—I am Prince Loki of Asgard! And I demand you release me at once!"

Dagny blinked, startled, and then grinned. Laufey King would have much use for a Princeling.

...

Birger bared his throat to Laufey King as she turned to him. 

"The Asgardians have seen fit to invite themselves into our realm. Tell the cooks to prepare a feast for them...let the thieves sample the food our people eat day to day. I will not waste delicacies on murderers when my people starve."

Birger smiled. "Yes, Laufey King."

The King nodded curtly and went on her way. Birger hurried to the kitchens to relay the King's orders. 

...

Laufey stood beyond Odinson's cell, watching the small Asgardian pace. There was something strange about the boy, familiar. Perhaps it was that he shared a name with—

There was something about him.

Laufey closed her eyes and focused on her seidr. The boy's own energy swirled around him in barely contained coils, fraying and leaking power to be convinced by the wards. If he kept it up he would exhaust himself before his people arrived. 

"I know you're there!" he said suddenly, voice high pitched and squeaky to her ears, though she supposed it was fairly deep for a young Æsir. 

Curious as to how she had been caught—perhaps Odinson was bluffing?—Laufey did not move. 

"Show yourself!" the boy spat, attempting to cover up his fear with vitriol. "Or is the King of the Frost Giants as big a coward as they say?"

He knew it was she. That was beyond a mere lucky guess. Laufey willed the wall of ice to part and stepped through. The boy tumbled back a step, staring up at her. He seemed to regret calling her out. 

Laufey frowned despite herself. She had encountered this boy before. She must have. The taste of his seidr was familiar, a spice she knew but could not name. She reached out with her own seidr, prodding at him, trying to uncover the mystery.

"Odinson," she said. "You have trespassed in our territory and killed our men. By all rights we should execute you."

The boy said something she didn't pay much attention to. In his seidr, Laufey found a knot, tied up with the foul, stinking magic of Odin King. She recoiled from it, lip curling, and the boy flinched. 

"But we are merciful, and your death will do Jötunheim no favors."

Laufey jabbed at the knot, irritated by the thought of the so called All-Father having a presence in her realm, through his son or not. 

"What are you _doing_?" Odinson squeaked, wincing as she pulled at the knot strings. 

Laufey paused in surprise. He should not have been able to feel her, no matter how accomplished a mage he was. The only ones left alive who could feel her seidr were her children—

_Loki. His name is Loki._

Laufey reared back, and looked at the mage, really looked. She peered past the pink-pale skin and green-pale eyes to the sharp curve of a cheekbone, obscured by puppy fat, the proud line of the nose, the shape of the eyes.

"Loí?" she whispered, reaching out with her seidr once more, this time with the intent to connect. She hit a wall, or more accurately, a knot. A knot tying up their connection and likely his very nature. 

"W-what?" The boy—her boy, her little Loki—was just shy of panicking. Laufey reached down and pulled him to her without thinking, just as she would do for Dié or Leí. He screeched and fought, but Laufey expertly contained the flailing limbs. The knot was loosening. Even now Loí's skin was turning the proper color. With a sound like a gong, the tangle of seidr unravelled and Loki _keened_.

Laufey crashed to her knees as their bond snapped into place. It was damaged from being so long surpressed, but sang with all the love Laufey held for her son. Unfortunately, it also held the fear and disgust and beginnings of hate that Loki held for his mother's people.

"What have they done to you?" she croaked, pressing his head into the crook of her neck. "My baby, my sweet son."

She could feel her body shifting, softening, shedding the sturdier form she took when there was a battle in her sights. Her breasts swelled with milk, urging her to feed her child—but Loki was nearly past that age, and it would only frighten him. 

"St-stop this at once," Loki squealed. He sounded so strange, like a grown adult with a soft child's voice. With sorrow, Laufey remembered how fast Æsir children grew, and wondered if her stolen son had his childhood stolen from him as well. 

_Not any longer_ , she promised herself. 

"Unhand me! Or my father will have your head!"

Rage filled Laufey down to her bones. "Odin Childthief is not your father. Your father was General Farbauti—"

"My mother would _never_ lay with a Frost Giant!" For the first time, true fire entered his voice, something other than fear. It only made Laufey angrier. She struggled not to show it. 

"—and _I_ am your mother. You were stolen from us, hidden away."

"Liar," he said, kicking her. "Liar, liar, liar!"

Laufey held him at arm's length and stared him down, startling her child into silence. 

"Then how do you explain your skin?" she demanded. He refused to meet her eyes, cringed from her as if she would strike him. 

"It's a trick! You—you forced me to assume it!"

"It is impossible to force an unaccostumed form onto a shapeshifter. What of our bond?"

He hesitated. "It is a cruel enchantment, meant to deceive me."

Laufey's heart broke a little, to hear him dismiss the sacred bond between mother and child as a _cruel enchantment_. But patience was a must—of course he wouldn't believe her outright. Not with all the lies Odin had fed him. 

"You will know the truth soon enough," she assured them both, climbing to her feet, Loí still balanced on her hip. 

"Stop it! You cannot—"

Laufey silenced his voice and rendered them both invisible as she exited the cell—a cell, the first her son had seen of his home was a _cell_ —and made her way to her chambers. Loki was still flailing against her shoulder, tiny rib cage now shaking with sobs. 

_Hush, child. You are safe. You are home_.

Laufey slipped past her own guards and entered her room. Dié looked up from where he was cuddled in the bed.

"Amma?"

Laufey dropped the working and Loí's frightened cries filled the chamber. Dié gasped. 

"Loí?" he whispered, struggling to extricate himself from the furs. Laufey crossed over to the bed instead and sat beside him, gently rubbing his youngest son's back. Dié peered at his brother, who had screwed his eyes shut and seemed to be pretending none of this was happening.

"He is returned to us," Laufey said around the lump in her throat. 

"What's wrong with him?"

Laufey hesitated. How to explain it to Dié, not even a century older than Loí? He was so _young_. They both were. 

"A very bad man took you brother from us not long after he was born," she said, now rocking Loí. "Loí doesn't know who he is, or even that he is Jötun. He is very frightened."

Dié bit his lip, looking so sad and uncertain. Laufey cursed Odin for the thousandth time in the last few minutes. 

"Hello Loí," Dié said quietly, in the Alltongue so he could understand. "I'm Dié, your big brother—"

"Let me go," Loki sniffled. "Please let me go home. I want my mother. I want Thor."

Laufey closed her eyes. 

"No, Loí. This is your home. I am your mother. And Thor Odinson has no place here."

"No, stop it! YOU'RE LYING!" 

Loki's seidr lashed out but Laufey gently contained his attempts to escape. They turned to attempts to harm instead. 

" _No_ , Loí," she snapped, quelling the workings before they could fully form. "You may be angry, but it is never okay to hurt family."

" _You're not my family!_ Thor! THOR! HELP ME!"

And no matter what Laufey did, he would not be soothed. She simply held him as he cried himself to exhaustion and, tossing weakly, fell asleep. 

"What now, Amma?" Dié asked. 

"Now we give Loí the home he deserves. You will have to be a big part of this, Dié, do you understand? You are near his age and so he will look to you to see how to behave. Do not lead him astray."

Dié recognized the seriousness of the command, and responded, "Yes, Laufey King."

"Good boy," she murmured, leaning down and pressing a kiss to his hair, white rather than Loki's black. He cuddled further into her side. 

"I'll teach him," Dié promised. "I'll teach him everything!"

"Not including how to steal iced sugar-milk from the kitchens, I hope?" she teased. Dié giggled. 

"Maybe, Amma," he said impishly. "But maybe not!"

Laufey let out a quiet snort of laughter. "Did Leí teach you that?"

He nodded proudly. 

Laufey sighed. "You boys will be the death of me."

But oh, what a wonderful way to go. Her eyes found a sleeping Loki's face once more, and her resolve firmed with every breath he took, alive and safe and where he was meant to be.

No one would ever take her children from her again. 


End file.
